Feeling the pinch? You’re not alone as U.S. credit card debt spikes to $1 trillion

(National Sentinel) Personal Finance: Americans continue to feel pinched by a sluggish economy that only recently has begun to show signs of life in the Trump era, as personal credit card debt has spiked to about $1 trillion.

As reported by Breitbart, a recent study by personal finance website WalletHub found that American credit card debt rose by 6 percent to $936.10 billion, up from $884.70 billion in 2016.

In the second quarter of this year, Americans piled another $33 billion onto credit cards.

Wallethub analysts are forecasting that Americans will add at least another $60 billion more to credit cards by the end of the year.

Breitbart noted further:

The study notes that the average household credit card balance in the U.S. went up to $7,996 in 2017, up from $7,584 during the same period in 2016.

The year 2016 was the worst for credit card debt since the financial crisis when U.S. consumers amassed $87.2 billion in new credit card debt by the end of the year.

The first quarter of 2017 had promising showings when consumers paid $30.5 billion of the debt before taking on $33 billion in debt in the second quarter from April 1 to June 30.

The reason Americans owe so much to credit cards boils down to rising interest rates, which will only increase as the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates at least once more this year.

Americans’ confidence in the economy is ratcheting up as well, as more and better jobs are being added. But clearly, after eight years of the Obama economy, we’ve got a long way to go before millions of Americans get back on their feet again.

1 Comment on Feeling the pinch? You’re not alone as U.S. credit card debt spikes to $1 trillion

Well, ya know, there are people who think the world is composed of WINNERS and LOSERS, and they prefer to be in the former category. To make that happen, they must spend all kinds of money so they can show it all off, but the rub is that their spinal columns quiver when they get the credit card bills, and the Masters of Usury LOVE IT !!